All-Sports Museum announces slate of 2016 gallery talks

All-Sports Museum announces slate of 2016 gallery talks

January 21, 2016

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State All-Sports Museum will host monthly gallery talks with a wide variety of coaches, alumni, and scholars throughout 2016. The gallery talks are casual, and no registration is required. Spend your lunch break getting a more intimate look at Penn State Athletic history.

All gallery talks begin at noon.

Jan. 29 -- Brad “Spider” Caldwell will kick off the 2016 gallery talks with a discussion in the museum’s football gallery. Caldwell began as a student manager for the football equipment staff in 1983. He graduated from Penn State in 1986 and was hired as an assistant equipment manager. He became head equipment manager in 2001, retiring in 2014. He returned to Penn State in a new position as a facility coordinator for Beaver Stadium in January 2015.

Feb. 5 -- The museum will host John Fritz for a discussion in the wrestling gallery. Fritz is a three-time wrestling All-American and the 1975 NCAA champion at 126 pounds. He went on to serve as head coach at Penn State from 1993 to 1998, earning National Coach of the Year in 1993 and Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1998. His teams placed in the top five in the country in five out of the six years during his tenure as head coach. Fritz has been with the University for 35 years, currently serving as commissioner of the Penn State University Athletic Conference.

March 16 -- The museum will host Coach Mark Pavlik for a discussion in the volleyball gallery. Pavlik is a 1982 graduate of Penn State and played under legendary Coach Tom Tait. He was coach Tom Peterson’s top assistant for five years, which included the team’s 1994 national title. Pavlik has been coaching for Penn State for 21 seasons, earning four EIVA Coach of the Year awards, and leading 21 players to 41 All-America awards.

April 22 --The museum will host Susan Delaney-Scheetz in the lacrosse exhibit. Delaney-Scheetz was the head women’s lacrosse coach from 1986 to 1989, touting a 67-9 record, two national championships in 1987 and 1989, and two National Coach of the Year awards. Delaney-Scheetz was promoted to assistant athletic director in 1989 and became associate athletic director and senior woman administrator in 2002, a position she held until retiring in 2011.

May 4 -- The museum will host Elizabeth “Betz” Hanley in the gymnastics gallery. Hanley coached the Penn State gymnastics team from 1968 to 1972. From 1978 to 1998 she founded and directed the Penn State International Dance Ensemble. She is now a retired associate professor emerita of kinesiology.

June 1 --The museum will host Wally Richardson in the football gallery. Richardson led Penn State to a 20-5 record as the starting quarterback during the 1995 and 1996 seasons, including bowl wins over Auburn at the Outback Bowl in 1996 and Texas at the Fiesta Bowl in 1997. Richardson earned his degree in administration of justice in 1996 and his master’s degree in higher education in December 2003. He currently serves as the director of the Football Letterman’s Club.

July 20 --The museum will host Glenn Thiel in the lacrosse gallery. Thiel is a 1966 graduate of Penn State and a 1970 post-graduate of Massachusetts with a master’s in physical education. Theil was the Penn State men’s lacrosse coach from 1978 to 2010, following his father’s legacy, who coached from 1935 to 1956. In 33 years at Penn State, Thiel led the team to the NCAA tournament, numerous top 20 national rankings, and conference regular season crowns.

Sept. 1 and Sept. 2 --The museum will host Lou Prato in the football gallery. Prato is a 1959 graduate of Penn State, sports historian, and author of many Penn State athletic books, including what many call the Bible of Penn State Football: "The Penn State Football Encyclopedia." In 2000, Prato was hired by Penn State to help organize and start the Penn State All-Sports Museum, and from 2001 to 2005 he served as the museum’s first director. Lou continues to write, with his most recent book, "100 Things Penn State Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die," published in August 2015.

Sept. 29 -- The museum will host Coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss in the field hockey gallery. Morett-Curtiss is a 1979 graduate of Penn State and was an outstanding field hockey player. She is a two-time Olympian, in 1980 and 1984, earning a bronze medal in 1984. Morett-Curtiss returned to her alma mater to take the reins as head coach of the field hockey program in 1987 when Gillian Rattray retired. Morett-Curtiss is in her 29th season coaching at Penn State, touting a 440-170-8 record. Morett-Curtiss has been inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, the USA Field Hockey Hall of Fame, and the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame, in addition to seven Mideast Region Coach of the Year awards and five Big Ten Coach of the Year awards.

Oct. 21 --The museum will host Nathan Althouse in the basketball gallery. Althouse earned three degrees from Penn State, graduating in 1994, 1996 and finally with a doctorate in counselor education in 2007. Althouse played basketball for Penn State in the early 1990s alongside John Amaechi. He remained in athletics throughout his career, working for the Varsity S Club from 2007 to 2009, as an academic advisor in the Morgan Academic Support Center for Student Athletes from 2009 to 2014, and currently serves as the athletic and community relations director for the Penns Valley Area School District.

Nov. 10 -- The museum will host Lori Rose in the volleyball gallery. Rose graduated from Penn State in 1985 with a degree in marketing. Rose is a three-time All-American for Penn State and was awarded the Atlantic 10 MVP in 1983. She is in the Norwin High School Hall of Fame and the Pennsylvania Coaches Association Hall of Fame. She went on to marry Coach Russ Rose in 1986, and they have four sons. She currently serves as the camp director for Volleyball Express, a position she’s held for the past 29 years.

Dec. 2 -- The museum will host its final gallery talk of 2016 with Joe Battista in the hockey gallery. Battista is a 1983 Penn State graduate of the Smeal College of Business with a degree in marketing. He captained the Icers while an undergraduate and went on to coach the team for 19 years, winning six ACHA national titles, playing in 10 straight national championship games, winning more than 500 games as head coach, and obtaining ACHA Division I Coach of the Year honors in 1999-2000 and 2001-2002. Battista is best known for facilitating the largest financial gift in the University’s history: $88 million from Terry and Kim Pegula. Battista currently works as a speaker, author, and consultant for his business PRAGMATIC Passion, LLC.